The Tale of Manas. The Great Campaign. Victory over Konurbay. Part - 1

The Great Campaign. Victory over Konurbay.

Almambet and Syrgak, having left Beidzhin, crossed the Sary-Suu River and encountered numerous herds of horses on their way. Seeing them, they sent their spare horse Kartkyureng to lead all the herds towards Manas's troops. Almambet and Syrgak beat the drums, fired several shots from their rifles, and began to drive the herds. (58).

Noticing this, the Chinese herder Janibay, leading forty herders on his red stallion, attacked Almambet and Syrgak.

Almambet knocked him off his horse with one blow, and the approaching Syrgak struck him with his sword, severing his head. They also killed the other herders and drove the herds further in their direction.

The news of the theft reached the chief herder Karagul. He caught up with Almambet and Syrgak in the Kamyshtuununchele area and engaged them in battle. Syrgak severely wounded Karagul with a spear, but despite his injury, Karagul managed to escape while Syrgak turned his horse.

For several days, they drove the herds and approached the crossings over the Sary-Suu River. The stallion Kartkyureng, who was leading the herds, found a ford in the place where Almambet and Syrgak had previously crossed. All the herds swam across the river after them. The best horses, the strongest and most powerful, crossed, while the weak and feeble perished in the water.

After crossing the river, they drove the herds for twelve days without stopping. Meanwhile, the wounded Karagul arrived in Beidzhin and informed Konurbay about the theft of the horses. Konurbay sent word to Khan Kara. He ordered Konurbay, Khan Neskara, Kalmyk hero Jolo, and Esenkhan's son Beryukoz to pursue, and they set out with a large army.

Almambet and Syrgak noticed the approach of the Chinese from afar. Almambet became worried and said:

- We will probably perish here, for the lion Manas is not with us, nor the glorious heroes Chubak, Kyokche, Bakai, Koshoy, Tyoshtyuk.

Syrgak, wishing to encourage him, replied:

- If death is written in your fate, you cannot escape it; you can die even lying in bed. Here, we will see who will win. - And both donned their battle armor and prepared to meet the enemy.

Konurbay was the first to catch up with them. He charged at them like a storm. At his fierce and terrifying sight, Almambet's hair stood on end. But he did not lose his composure and said to Syrgak:

- Keep driving the horses, and I will deal with the enemies alone!

Seeing Almambet before him, Konurbay tried to outsmart him and began to lure him into the sandy desert. Almambet caught up with him and struck him once with a spear, nearly knocking him off his horse, but he managed to escape. The terrain was sandy, and Almambet's horse Sarala was exhausted from the long journey. Noticing that Sarala was getting stuck in the sand, Konurbay turned back and struck Almambet with a spear. Almambet barely held on to his horse and tried to flee towards Syrgak.

While Almambet was riding back, Syrgak was watching them from a distance. Noticing that Konurbay was chasing Almambet on his black winged horse, he hid in ambush, and when Konurbay approached him, he suddenly jumped out of the ambush and struck him with a spear. Konurbay had two ribs broken, and he, heavily wounded, rode back.

Returning to his army, Konurbay said:

- The terrible hero is Syrgak; he is even stronger than Manas himself, he is more cunning than Manas himself. With one blow, he nearly destroyed me; sparks flew from my eyes.

After this, he and his army rode after them again. Bloody battles began. Almambet and Syrgak took turns fighting, repelling the Chinese onslaught, and drove Konurbay's herd further and further towards Manas. New forces kept arriving for the Chinese. Almambet and Syrgak began to feel fatigue in the relentless battles, and their horses also grew tired.

While Almambet was fighting seven Chinese heroes, Konurbay struck him from the side with a spear and knocked him to the ground, while he himself tried to catch his horse Sarala. But Almambet's horse fled from the enemy. Almambet tried to escape, shooting from his rifle and striking those who approached him with his sword. Konurbay wanted to capture him alive. Two Chinese, Kutganali, nicknamed Iron Ears, and Kitinali, nicknamed Iron Belly, were already preparing to throw a lasso around Almambet's neck, but at that moment Syrgak rode to his aid. Breaking through the surrounding Chinese, he grabbed Almambet, lifted him from the ground, placed him on his horse, and galloped away with him. After riding over several hills, they spotted Sarala grazing in a meadow. Seeing them, he ran up to them, and Almambet got back on him.

Meanwhile, the Chinese caught up with the heroes again. Almambet, grappling with Konurbay, knocked him off his horse, and Syrgak wanted to behead him. But the Chinese hero Djokyulyuk managed to save Konurbay by placing him on his horse.

While they were fighting, Manas, who was on Talchok, had a strange dream. He woke up in confusion, waking Chubak, and said to him:

- Surely, the Chinese have surrounded Almambet and Syrgak. If we do not hurry to help them and rescue them from trouble, they will perish, and the Chinese will drive us all the way to Talas.

They decided to ride to their aid, and, mounting their horses, descended from the Talchok mountain. From there, they saw from afar that Kartkyureng was leading numerous horse herds towards them. Noticing Manas, Kartkyureng neighed with joy and rushed towards him. He thought that Manas would mount him, and then he would serve him faithfully, like Akkula, to pursue Konurbay. Approaching Manas, the horse began to sniff him. But Manas did not understand and pushed the horse away with his hand. Then Kartkyureng galloped further towards Manas's army, looking for his master Azhibay and leaving the herd that followed him behind.

Behind the herd moved the Chinese army. Manas and Chubak charged into battle with them. Chubak engaged in single combat with Jolo. At that moment, the Kalmyk hero Ushan charged from the side and knocked Chubak off his horse with one blow. Chubak got up but could not mount his Kokteke, which was spinning and jumping.

Meanwhile, the hero Jolo, galloping ahead of the Chinese army on his horse Achbuidan, decided to block the path of the horse herds. Seeing him, Chubak hid among the herd, bending down to the bow of his saddle so that he would not be seen. When Jolo began to drive the horses back, Chubak quietly approached him and wanted to stab him with a dagger. But from behind, the balban Ushantoo jumped at him and pushed Chubak down headfirst. Noticing this, Almambet dashed towards them like the wind. Cracking the whip on Sarala, he struck Ushan from both sides, and he was knocked off his horse and hit his head on the ground.

When Almambet turned his horse, he saw that the fiery stallion Kokteke was playing, spinning in place, while Chubak, leaning to the side, was confused, unable to catch the reins and dragging them beside him. Almambet jumped to him:

- What is wrong with you, Chubak? - he said,
Where has your bravery gone?
For the enemy has surrounded us on all sides!
From behind, Almabek galloped to him.
For the golden belt and the camel strap
With a strong pull he grabbed
Chubak, son of Akbalta,
The lion Almabek, your sultan,
And placed him on a horse.

The battle continued. Syrgak rode to Manas's army. At that moment, Bakai was sitting on a hill and looking through a telescope in the direction where Manas had gone. He saw Syrgak riding, who, not noticing him, rode on. Bakai stopped him, shouting to him. Seeing Bakai, Syrgak could say nothing but the words: "Aba, aba, aba!" He was all covered in dust and splattered with mud.

When the entire Kyrgyz army approached, Manas mounted his Akkula and donned his armor. Manas's battle armor was strong, making him almost invulnerable to the enemy's weapons.

If, lost on a moonless night,
You seek the road in the darkness,
Then from the glowing tips of his ears
The road will not be lost but will be visible, -
Such is the worthy giant Akkula,
The horse on which the hero Manas rides.
For a long time, he served him a patterned syrnayza,
Which the hero wore on his shoulder,
For it was chosen the strongest yellow reed,
The reed was loaded onto a yellow camel.

The most skilled master made the shaft of the spear,
The shaft was tightly bound with sinews,
And then smeared with sticky glue.
Everyone marveled and could not figure out,
What kind of shaft was so hard?
Made of reed, glue, and sinews, the spear,
And covered with such patterns on top!
Look at the agility of Manas,
How he plunges this spear into the enemy's body!
No matter who the person is -
He will surely be knocked off his horse.
If he pulls the spear back,
The wound will widen,
And the resisting enemy will be pierced.
The enemy who tried to seize Manas,
Had all five fingers severed.
The strap for hanging the spear
Is all embroidered with patterns.
Its middle was embroidered by Kanykey
With ten golden crescents.
With a patterned spear with a steel tip
Manas shakes mightily.
It took so much coal to process the spear
That vast forests were destroyed.
Only for the furs of the forge in processing the sword
Whole herds of bulls were slaughtered.
The blacksmith Karataz
Put all the strength of his mighty hands on it (59).
When the blade was first immersed in water for tempering,
The waters of the cold spring dried up.

Unable to withstand such strain,
Forty-six hammerers were exhausted.
The skilled master from Misra
Spent the whole winter and summer carving the blade.
He made the blade curved,
And then tempered it
In the poisonous lake of the city of Rum.
If you draw it from the sheath at night,
The blade shines like a red-hot coal.
On the day of battle, it lengthens to ghostly sizes (60).
In the fog and steam of the air
The blade was tempered three times by magical art.
For three months, the blade was immersed
In the poisonous saliva of the ajidara.
If you strike the mountain with the blade - the stone will split. (61)
If you swing at the enemy - his head will fly off.
If you lay it on the grass - a fire will ignite.
Anyone whom the blade is aimed at falls dead.
Drawing the blade from the sheath,
Spurring Akkula,
Manas charged at the Chinese.

The Tale of Manas. The Great Campaign. The Story of Almambet